Costochondritis
Basics
Description
- Anterior chest wall pain and tenderness of the costochondral and costosternal regions, most often affecting the 2nd to the 5th costal cartilages
- System(s) affected: musculoskeletal
- Synonym(s): costosternal syndrome; parasternal chondrodynia; anterior chest wall syndrome
Epidemiology
- Predominant age: 40 to 50 years
- Predominant gender: female
Incidence
- 30% emergency room visits for chest pain
- 13% primary care visits for chest pain
Etiology and Pathophysiology
Although not fully understood, inflammation can be caused by pulling from adjoining muscles at costochondral or costosternal regions.
Risk Factors
- Unusual physical activity or upper extremity overuse
- Recent trauma (including motor vehicle accident, domestic violence) or new-onset physical activity
- Recent upper respiratory infection (URI) with coughing
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Citation
Domino, Frank J., et al., editors. "Costochondritis." 5-Minute Clinical Consult, 33rd ed., Wolters Kluwer, 2025. Medicine Central, im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/1688709/all/Costochondritis.
Costochondritis. In: Domino FJF, Baldor RAR, Golding JJ, et al, eds. 5-Minute Clinical Consult. Wolters Kluwer; 2025. https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/1688709/all/Costochondritis. Accessed December 3, 2024.
Costochondritis. (2025). In Domino, F. J., Baldor, R. A., Golding, J., & Stephens, M. B. (Eds.), 5-Minute Clinical Consult (33rd ed.). Wolters Kluwer. https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/1688709/all/Costochondritis
Costochondritis [Internet]. In: Domino FJF, Baldor RAR, Golding JJ, Stephens MBM, editors. 5-Minute Clinical Consult. Wolters Kluwer; 2025. [cited 2024 December 03]. Available from: https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/1688709/all/Costochondritis.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - Costochondritis
ID - 1688709
ED - Domino,Frank J,
ED - Baldor,Robert A,
ED - Golding,Jeremy,
ED - Stephens,Mark B,
BT - 5-Minute Clinical Consult, Updating
UR - https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/1688709/all/Costochondritis
PB - Wolters Kluwer
ET - 33
DB - Medicine Central
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -